Deformation of dorsal root ganglion due to pressure transients of venous blood and cerebrospinal fluid in the cervical vertebral canal
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2018

The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) that is embedded in the foramen of the cervical vertebra can be injured during a whiplash motion. A potential cause is that whilst the neck bends in the whiplash motion, the changes of spinal canal volume induce impulsive pressure transients in the venous blood outside the dura mater (DM) and in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inside the DM. The fluids can dynamically interact with the DRG and DM, which are deformable. In this work, the interaction is investigated numerically using a strong-coupling partitioned method that synchronize the computations of the fluid and structure. It is found that the interaction includes two basic processes, i.e., the pulling and pressing processes. In the pulling process, the DRG is stretched towards the spinal canal, and the venous blood is driven into the canal via the foramen. This process results from negative pressure in the fluids. In contrast, the pressing process is caused by positive pressure that leads to compression of the DRG and the outflow of the venous blood from the canal. The largest pressure gradient is observed at the foramen, where the DRG is located at. The DRG is subject to prominent von Mises stress near its end, which is fixed without motions. The negative internal pressure is more efficient to deform the DRG than the positive internal pressure. This indicates that the most hazardous condition for the DRG is the pulling process.

Pressure transients

Fluid-structure interaction

Cerebrospinal fluid

Dorsal root ganglion

Dura mater

Venous blood

Whiplash

Författare

Huadong Yao

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Strömningslära

Mats Svensson

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Fordonssäkerhet

Chalmers, Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers (SAFER)

Håkan Nilsson

Chalmers, Mekanik och maritima vetenskaper, Strömningslära

Journal of Biomechanics

0021-9290 (ISSN) 18732380 (eISSN)

Vol. 76 25 16-26

Styrkeområden

Transport

Livsvetenskaper och teknik (2010-2018)

Ämneskategorier

Teknisk mekanik

Annan medicinteknik

Biofysik

Farkostteknik

Strömningsmekanik och akustik

Fundament

Grundläggande vetenskaper

Infrastruktur

C3SE (Chalmers Centre for Computational Science and Engineering)

Drivkrafter

Innovation och entreprenörskap

DOI

10.1016/j.jbiomech.2018.05.012

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2018-09-05